The Legacy Quilt is a living, dynamic, ever-evolving representation of the commitment of people socialized as white women to dismantle white supremacy and actualize a culture of freedom for all. Collaborators respond to the question:

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The Legacy Quilt Project is a creative community of white women and gender-expansive people who are using visual art to heal racial divisions within ourselves and in our communities. The LQP was born out of my desire to center healing and community in both my racial justice work and my art. The LQP provides white women/gender-expansive folks with a community within which we can safely explore and challenge our own wounds, while building our legacy and imagining a world of freedom and harmony with all living beings. The LQP is meant to be a resource for you. You may dive in and join every monthly meet-up. Or you may need a quiet creative project that allows you to process things on your own time and in solitude. There is no right way to participate. Please join me in creating our community. We are collaborators.

 

Throughout 2023, collaborators will create their answers to the question, "What do I want my legacy as a white woman/
gender-expansive person to be?" On the 3rd Tuesday of each month, I will facilitate meet-ups (both in-person and virtual) where collaborators can share what they are working on, sit and sew together, seek and provide visual inspiration, and share more about their exploration of the question of the legacy of white women. The LQP will pause January-May 2024 so that it can be incorporated into my MFA thesis exhibition. 

 

Join our community of joyful resistance!

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Who is this project for?​

• "White people of all gender identities who have experienced first-hand dominant culture's expectations of white girlhood/womanhood and/or white femininity" are invited to contribute to the quilt.*

• This quilt is for everyone to experience! It is a teaching and learning tool that will be used in an infinite number of ways, many of which are yet to be imagined.

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What do I need to know if I want to participate?​

• YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AN ARTIST TO PARTICIPATE! 

• YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW HOW TO SEW TO PARTICIPATE!

• YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH ANTIRACISM WORK TO PARTICIPATE!

• YOU CAN PARTICIPATE FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! If you want your piece to be added to the quilt, simply mail it to me!

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How can I get involved?

• Email legacyquilt@gmail.com so I can add you to my list of collaborators and keep you informed about meet-up locations and other project updates

• create a quilt piece!

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Are there any specific requirements for what I create?

• No! A lack of guidelines can be daunting, so if you need some parameters, you can start with a 9x9 or 12x12 square

• Your creation should encapsulate what you want your legacy of white womanhood/personhood to be. This could be a letter to your child, something representing your commitment to practicing antiracism, how you want dominant white culture to transform, what you want whiteness to mean for future generations, a new concept or practice you cherish that you learned in your liberation journey, etc.

• you can use any fabric you would like for your piece. You may find more significance or meaning if you use a textile that has some connection to you, your family, your history, or your imagination of the future. For example, I have begun embroidering a placemat that belonged to my great-grandmother. I am really enjoying bringing new life and meaning to an old object and musing about the parallel of social norms changing over time. What is my great-grandmother's legacy, and how will mine differ?

  • I have been collecting vintage handkerchiefs and can mail you a hanky if you like the idea of using something from the past to tell a story of your present and leave a legacy for future generations. Just reach out to me! Or, check out a local antique shop. Many of them sell beautiful vintage handkerchiefs for $1-5.​

• you can use text or images. It can be a very clear message or an abstract representation. You may find the AIDS memorial quilt and their "How to make a panel" page helpful or inspiring when considering how to design and create your textile piece for this project. You can visit their website here.

• don't be deterred if textiles or quilting aren't really your thing! You can create something digitally or on paper and I can work with you to transfer either a copy or the original onto fabric for the quilt.

 

Project Timeline:

• This is a project with no foreseen ending! However, if you want your contribution to be included in my MFA thesis exhibition, you should submit your piece by January 2024.

• I plan on publishing a book with images of each individual's piece and a statement by each participiant sharing why they got involved, what the process meant for them, or more about the message of their quilt piece. The goal is to finish that by May 2024 as well. I hope it will just be the first volume, but if you want your work to be included in the book, it's best to submit by January 2024!

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How can I connect with other collaborators?

• I will host monthly gatherings in the St. Louis area where we can get together and work on our quilt pieces. I hope to partner with various community organizations for places to gather. I will email the meeting information 1-2 weeks prior to the gathering.

• If you aren't located in the St. Louis area, don't worry! I will begin each meet-up with at least 30 minutes of Zoom time for distant collaborators!  

• I will also host a handful of virtual "quilt and shares" over Zoom for those who are not in the St. Louis area if there is demand for that. 

• You can join our private Mighty Network group, a social media platform that allows us to post photos of our work and interact with each other virtually. Email me for an invitation to join. 

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*Thank you to Jen Willsea and her colleagues for the wording quoted above. 

A NOTE ABOUT GENDER: As I have delved into making work about race and whiteness, I have found it to be incredibly important to speak from my own lived experience, just as I would in conversations about whiteness. My own concept of gender is shifting and evolving thanks to the brilliant work of people like Alok Vaid-Menon. I do identify as a woman and relate to the gendered struggle that people socialized as women in a heteronormative patriarchal capitalist society often face. This is why I am framing the LQP in this way. I am very open to feedback and questions! Reach out if you have some.